BP posted a record quarterly net profit, beating expectations as the Iran war boosted prices and refining margins, and said it would use the windfall to settle its remaining Deepwater Horizon liabilities.
The company reported third-quarter underlying replacement cost profit — its version of net income — of $8.46 billion, the highest of any quarter under BP's current version of the parameter. That beat analysts' expectations of $7.33 billion, and was up from $2.2 billion a year earlier.
The results follow high earnings from Shell and TotalEnergies, which also beat quarterly profit expectations on Thursday and chose to raise share buybacks with their cash.
BP said it would use part of the surplus cash to settle its remaining liabilities from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, when a blow-out on the drilling rig over the BP-operated Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico became one of the worst oil spills to date, killing 11 people.
The company put aside $69 billion relating to the spill. Related payables and provisions still stand at $5.94 billion under a payment schedule stretching to 2033, according to the most recent BP data and a BP spokesperson.
When asked about the possibility of resuming share buybacks or a higher dividend, CEO Meg O'Neill said BP was still carrying more debt than it can afford in a low price scenario, and was focused on bringing this down to protect the current dividend.
